Run
by Konstantinsen
Summary: "I have on old friend of mine. I'd love to introduce him...but we haven't been on good terms for the past forty years and all. Be wary of him." - Bill
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE: Hi.**

**I was forced to babysit my cousins one weekend. That came with watching cartoons and apparently they liked Gravity Falls. So I didn't change the channel lest they unleash their (unhygienic) wrath upon me.**

**It's a really good show though. It was good. It's good. I watched more of it. I watched the episodes. I watched ALL the episodes. It's an awesome show.**

**And I came up with this after seeing some memes. Enjoy.**

* * *

_"I have an old friend of mine. I'd love to introduce him...but we haven't been on good terms for the past forty years and all. Be wary of him." – Bill_

* * *

Stanford Pines nearly stumbled out of the bathroom after suffering from an earlier-than-expected coup within the caverns under his stomach. He made a mental note to 'kindly' inform Mable of some much needed improvements in her cooking, grumbling all the while at the mountain breeze that swept inside.

Come to think of it: the breeze was colder than usual.

Stan stopped in his tracks, his mild shivering ceasing amid his train of thought. It wasn't supposed to be this cold at the four in the morning. Assuming a woodpecker drilled another hole in the ceiling somewhere, he automatically turned towards the door—

A tall shadow moved away from the window.

The old man took a minute to register what he just saw. And another minute to realize that he wasn't dreaming. In the next thirty seconds, he swung the door open, his cane firmly in his grasp, ready to pummel whoever was trying to break into the Mystery Shack.

"Who's out there!"

The wilderness tauntingly replied back at him with a chill across his skin. He began to shake from the cold again.

"Hello!"

The sound of rustling leaves whispered back from the dim distance. He could have sworn it was getting misty out there.

"I know you're out there! And if you come back here before dawn, I'm calling the cops on you!" He stepped forward—

And stubbed his toe against one of his own relics sitting on the front porch.

Stan's wailing would have been enough to wake a normal sleeping creature within a one mile radius. He shook his fist against the dawn, craning at an angle under the pressure of the throbbing in his foot.

"Get out o' here, you damn kids!"

The old man made to pick up his cane until he noticed that the Rock That Looks Like A Face held a piece of paper under it. He picked it up.

Stanford grumbled, limping back inside.

* * *

The note was cryptic. The Pine twins Dipper and Mabel sat on both sides of the dinner table, idling away at the piece of paper Gruncle Stan found early this morning. It didn't seem to be a threat but it sounded close to being a warning. _More like a tease._

"So Bill has friends?" Mabel asked her brother, cuddling Waddles onto her lap shortly after finishing her bowl of...steak.

Dipper peeked over the corner into the living room. Sure enough, their great uncle was sitting on the couch with a cast around his toe complete with a purple jewel Mabel cheerfully glued on. The morning news somewhat enraptured him today which was fairly uncommon.

"Boop."

"Mabel, please?"

Mabel smirked and poked his cheek again. "Bop. Hey, what's it say?"

Book Three came open as Dipper flipped through the pages. The section detailing Bill Cipher was unnervingly stained with red spatters. None of the twins hoped to deliberate any further than that. The demon was not very kind when they confronted him on the plane of existence that was Stan's mind not too long ago.

"Other than the obvious..."

Mabel pouted and held up her pet pig. "What do you think, Waddles?" Waddles snorted nonchalantly. "You too? Ah, well, I can't blame you for being clueless." The pig then began scooted out of her grasp and making a head for the note on the table. Dipper grabbed it before it ended up in the animal's mouth.

"Hey! Mabel!"

"Sorry, Waddles, but you can't eat that. It's from our old friend, Bill—"

"Wait! You kids know that Bill kid? Is he one of Wendy's friends?" Stan hollered from the living room.

The Pine twins simultaneously took up the classic diversion. "Uh, well, n-not really! Ha-ha! You can go, uh, watch the news now, ha-ha-ha!"

Mabel elbowed her brother. She shot him a sharp look: _Really, Dipper? Sound more genuine!_

_ How can I?_ Dipper glared back.

_Let me do this._ "Oh, he's just someone we met a f-few days ago at, uh, at the, uh..."

"The convenience store!" Dipper completed for her before resuming eye communication. _You stuttered! I'll take it from here._

_Fine!_ Mabel pouted, picked up Waddles, and sat back on the kitchen stool.

There was a brief pause that neither twin took notice of. After that, Stan sounded rather peeved. "Well, tell him to quit it 'cause I might get gangrene from that little prank of his. I don't know what he means by that 'old friend' thing but don't get me involved unless they're planning on taking the tour."

"Sure thing, Gruncle Stan," came the chorused reply. And that was the end of that. The twins sighed in relief.

Dipper held up the note. "Whatever this is, it's something that we shouldn't take lightly."

"Well, what do we do then?" Mabel's eyes suddenly sparkled. To her brother, it was a sign that the switch to her boy-crazy mode had been flipped on. "What if Bill's friend is a vampire?" She then promptly squealed.

"Oh, come on, Mabel!"

* * *

"Hey, dudes. Mister Pines."

"Soos? You're here early."

"Soos! About time!" Stan hollered. "I need you to put up some signs that says, 'No teenaged pranksters allowed'. Look at what they did to me!"

The Shack's handyman stepped inside. "You hit your foot on something, Mister Pines?"

"Damn right, I did! And it's because a bunch o' kids who got up too early decided to mess with me. Well, they'll see what's coming..."

"I'll get to it, Mister Pines. Can I talk to my bros first?"

Stan waved his hand as the morning entertainment began. "Yeah, yeah. Just be quick about it. I want that sign before nine."

"What's up, Soos?" Dipper began.

Soos waved back. He then drew out and unfolded a scribbled piece of paper from his back pocket. "I think someone stole your diary. Though, I don't really recall you having a diary. Or is that thing with the number on it your diary?"

"It's not." Dipper hastily took the page. _What is this? _If he was puzzled over this morning's note, this new one disturbed him. "And this isn't mine. Where'd you find it?"

"It was taped on the outhouse."

"Really?" Mable grabbed it excitedly. Her smile quickly faded. "Whoa. This is creepy."

"Soos! The sign?"

"On it, Mister Pines! Got to go, dudes." With that, the handyman skipped away to the break room to collect his tools.

"Dipper! Go cut up some more logs. We need wood for the sign and the relics!"

The boy groaned. But before he could begin to protest, he felt a tug at his vest. He noticed Waddles on the floor, nibbling at his sister's sock.

"Yeah, Mabel?" The atmosphere between them quickly changed the moment he looked at her. Dipper grabbed her shoulders, trying to read her gaze. At first it was confusion. Then horror. He realized that she wasn't even looking directly at him. "Mabel? Mabel, what is it? Mabel, come on, you're creeping me out here. Mabel!"

* * *

Outside, Wendy twisted the keys and hopped out of the golf cart, catching Mabel's gaze through the kitchen window. She waved then stopped. It didn't take long for the fear on the little girl's face to register on the teen.

Wendy Corduroy turned around.

* * *

The Pine twins both watched the figure disappear into the woods, glimpsing only a pitch black suit and tie. Wendy, though, felt her heart stop when she glanced at his—

_He doesn't have a face._

She stared. _He doesn't have a face._

Her blood ran cold at the thought of it. Just as she felt numb, the next thought that her brain processed made it much worse. What was supposed to be a boredom-induced myth turned out to be real the whole time. Behind her came the frantic muffled cries from the Mystery Shack kitchen. By then, she knew what they were screaming at her to do.

_Run..._

She ran inside and bolted the lock.

* * *

**NOTE: I don't intend to continue this. I just want to get this off my chest so I can concentrate on other things. Like continuing my other fics, studying, and playing Fallout: New Vegas. (Then again, balancing Fallout and school is much like mixing oil with water.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE: As much as I didn't want to continue this, I couldn't help but upload this subsequent chapter I wrote alongside the first one. I was on a binge when I wrote the first chapter and I pretty shat these out altogether. There is a third chapter but it's currently unfinished. Until I could think of something conclusive to follow it up, this story'll stay as it is.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

_"As much as I'd want to, I can't mess with him directly. Once you have his attention, he can't be stopped until he will have you. You can't hide from him forever._

_ I could help you out though but I have to be summoned first. Your choice." – Bill_

* * *

Mabel Pines ran.

Every step she took cost her valuable breath. Adrenaline had pushed her far beyond the physical capabilities of her body and though she could have beaten Wendy in a race at the speed she was going at, the exertion tired her to the point of immobility after tripping over a vine and tumbling into the weeds.

She panted heavily against the underbrush. It was dark. She looked up. It was darker. She cringed as she made one final pass to see who was behind her. The shadow was darkest, cast against the light of the stars.

"Dipper!"

* * *

"Mabel!"

Dipper Pines trudged frantically through the bushes, weaving in between the trees like a madman with no apparent direction. The camcorder hung loosely over his neck, still recording unbeknownst to its owner.

"Mabel!"

A small ball wound tightly around his forefinger, composed entirely of a loose strand from Mabel's sweater that had practically become the lifeline between him—his only link to his sibling. Though, at this point, it seemed that the lifeline was taking him even farther away from her.

"Mabel! Can you hear me—" His voice finally cracked under the strain making him pause midstride to catch some air.

"Come on," he wheezed, "come on…"

The bright pink string of thread stretched deeper into the forest. Further up, it broke off from its straight line and began to meander from tree to tree. A clear indication that his sister had tried to serpentine her way to escape. Or that she grew disoriented from the fatigue of fleeing.

He cleared his throat. "Mabel!"

Dipper heard her scream.

* * *

Blackness. Cold. Freezing cold.

Mabel sprang her eyes open, barely registering her confines. She wasn't bound nor shackled but she nevertheless clung to her sides and huddled against the floor. Her body hurt all over and though the coldness of the floor helped to numb her aching side, she began to feel a stinging sensation on her knees and elbows. She didn't know what though as her eyes had yet to adjust to the pitch darkness of the room.

On top of it all, she was aware that something or someone was watching her.

"Dipper?" she whimpered.

A wooden floorboard creaked somewhere making her squeal.

"H-hello?"

Nothing. Mabel began to shiver. She badly needed her sweater until she remembered that it was torn away when that..._thing_...separated them in the woods. Separated her from Dipper. Where's Dipper?

"D-dipper?" Her voice creaked. "Dipper? A-are you there?"

Unnerving silence. Her already fragile mind suggested that it was probably some big joke played by everyone just to scare her. If that were so, this was extreme. Too extreme. _Okay, get a hold of yourself, Mabel. It's probably just a prank. A big joke. Just a prank, just a prank, just a prank, just a prank—_

A sharp piercing clang snapped from a corner and echoed across the room._ It's not a prank…_

She wanted to scream but she knew she wasn't alone. And she felt that her company wasn't all too friendly, either.

"Dipper…I don't like this. C-can you stop now?"

There was a hiss from the corner of the room. Mable shot up and felt for the floor—_cold. _Her body took on its own movement and the twelve-year-old girl crawled feverishly backwards until her back was pressed against the much colder sheet of steel wall. "Please…don't hurt me…"

The reply was a deep guttural growl.

"I just…want to be f-friends…"

It was still there. She knew it. Whoever it was, it wasn't Dipper. It wasn't anyone she knew, too. And she was definitely scared. Her silly self couldn't surface. Her optimism was severely pacified. In other slightly similar situations, she would break out her innocence and unknowingly see the positive side of things, letting her lighter side run wild in the face of danger. But the danger had reached a certain magnitude that was too much for her—or any girl of her age for that matter—to handle.

Mabel forced herself to think happy thoughts. Waddles. His pink skin and cute face and who was feeding him when she was gone—_no!_ Soos, Wendy. They'd still be playing around with Gruncle Stan and—_I can't!_ Dipper... _Where are you, Dipper? I need you!_

Her mind screamed at the darkness before her eyes. In the absence of any light source came the slow process of relegating her pupils to contrast the dark shapes against the darker world…

"Dipper…"

The creature hissed again, much louder. She quivered. It was too much.

Mabel cried herself to sleep.

* * *

The pink sweater haunted him. Dipper sat in a state of disbelief that seemed to have stretched for an eternity. Mable's favorite sweater was shredded halfway. In the pitch blackness of the night, it was hard for him to catch any details other than feel through it just to assure himself that it was indeed hers.

"Mabel..." His voice had cracked from the screaming. "No..." He scooped up the sweater. "This can't be happening..."

The twelve-year-old cupped the foam on the camcorder's handgrip and hesitated. He aimed the lens ahead wondering whether to continue with the monologue. He didn't and instead trudged forward wordlessly into the unknown. As he set foot behind the next tree, he could smell the distinct condensation of a growing fog.

Dipper squinted. It was getting misty up ahead. A sign of hope, maybe?

"Mabel! Don't worry, I'm coming!"

Before he could make a mad dash forward, a mad ringing ripped through his ears…and sent waves of disruptive static against the audiovisual recording. Dipper's enthusiasm turned to shock when tendrils shot out of the beyond and pulled him in. A branch sprouting out of a fallen log ripped the sweater from his hands and tore the strap that kept the video camera tethered around his neck. Both flew in the wind before rolling down the slope to rest on the bank of a creek.

The Oregon cap later landed a few feet away.

* * *

Cones of light swept through the trees. Pairs of eyes bounced back and forth in the darkness, darting around but keeping tabs on the other like a group of ragtag adventure seekers. On this night however, the adventure was a desperate search for two missing kids. The fact that they were last seen with _them_ would have made the morning news all the more against their favor.

As such, Wendy and her posse of friends tore through the underbrush, calling out for the Pines.

Robbie walked alongside her, holding up his own torch. Though he never really had a warm relationship with that Dipper preteen, seeing the girl he dated in distress was too much to just stay on the sides and watch. He was going to find those twins whether he liked them or not.

"Hey! Dipper and, uh, Mabel!" he called out. "Come on. This ain't a joke anymore!"

The creek trickled nearby and the path seemed to have been construed by a log. He hopped over it. And landed on something soft. "Huh?"

The amateur punk rocker felt for it, picking up a cap with a sky blue pine tree logo sewn on the front. "It's that kid's…"

Robbie flipped it over, feeling something sticky. He bit onto the end of his flashlight, keeping the yellow cone centered on the cap in his hands—it was unnerving. "Wendy! Wendy, I found something!"

"What is it?"

As he made his way towards her, he tried to think of an explanation for the—

"Is that…blood?"

* * *

**NOTE: Goodnight.**


End file.
